Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2014, Article ID 675496, 11 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/675496
Research Article Correlates of Cessation Success among Romanian Adults Dorota Kaleta,1 Bukola Usidame,2 Elhbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk,3 and Teresa Makowiec-Ddbrowska4 1
Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Ł´od´z, 90 752 Ł´od´z, Poland Department of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125, USA 3 Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Ł´od´z, 90 752 Ł´od´z, Poland 4 Department of Work Physiology and Ergonomics, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91 348 Ł´od´z, Poland 2
Correspondence should be addressed to Dorota Kaleta; [email protected] Received 18 February 2014; Revised 23 April 2014; Accepted 18 May 2014; Published 4 June 2014 Academic Editor: Amy K. Ferketich Copyright © 2014 Dorota Kaleta et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Tobacco smoking and its consequences are a serious public health problem in Romania. Evidence-based data on factors associated with successful smoking cessation are crucial to optimize tobacco control. The aim of the study was to determine the sociodemographic and other factors associated with smoking cessation success among adults. Materials and Methods. Data was from a sample of 4,517 individuals derived from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). GATS is a cross-sectional, nationally representative household survey implemented in Romania in 2011. Data was analyzed with logistic regression. Results. Among females, the quit rate was 26.3% compared with 33.1% in males (𝑃 < 0.02). We found disparities in cessation success among the analyzed groups of respondents. Being economically active, being aged 40 and above, and having an awareness of smoking health consequences were associated with long-term quitting smoking among men, while initiating smoking at a later age increased the odds of quitting smoking among women. However, cohabitation with nonsmokers was the strongest predictor of successful cessation among both genders. Conclusion. Programs increasing quit rates and encourage cessation among groups less likely to quit, adopting voluntary smoke-free homes, and increasing the awareness of smoking and tobacco pollution risks are needed.
1. Introduction Tobacco smoking and its adverse consequences are a serious public health problem in Romania. Smoking prevalence in 2011 was 37.4% and 16.6% among adult men and women, respectively [1]. According to the World Health Organization, in Romania, tobacco was responsible for 16% of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) compared with 20% of all communicable diseases [2]. The proportion of deaths attributable to tobacco was approximately 24% for men and 6% for women. Among those who died prematurely, almost one in every 4 deaths (population aged 30–44) and one in 3 deaths (population aged 45–59 years) were attributable to tobacco use. Peto et al. estimate that smokers who die as a result of their tobacco consumption die 14 years earlier than people who never smoked [3]. Expressed in life years, it was calculated that in 2010, about 9.94 million years were lost prematurely. The estimated loss to society caused by premature deaths
associated with smoking amounts to a monetized value of 517 bEUR for the EU, which corresponds to about 4.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP) [3]. Romania was hugely affected with an estimated loss of 26,611 mEUR, which corresponds to about 11.2% of the GDP. However, the losses caused by tobacco extend beyond the costs of premature deaths and also affect other aspects of society functions. To decrease the burden of smoking-induced disease as well as related society costs, there is a need to reduce smoking. Increasing the cessation rate is considered the only high-impact strategy that can determine a significant improvement in a relatively short term [4]. There are many approaches and interventions at individual as well as population levels that have been assessed and implemented, and their effective results could serve as an example [4–9]. In regard to the above, the purpose of this study was to determine the sociodemographic and other factors (including risk awareness of smoking and environmental tobacco
2 smoke harm or cohabitation with a smoker) associated with successful smoking cessation among Romanian adults in order to provide evidence-based data to develop well-tailored, effective tobacco control strategies.
2. Material and Methods Data on smoking status, sociodemographic and other characteristics of respondents were derived from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Detailed methodology of the survey was described elsewhere [1, 10, 11]. Romania belongs to the EURO World Health Organization countries and it is also one of the GATS family countries that implemented survey in years 2009–2011, alongside the Russian Federation, Poland, and Ukraine. Global Adult Tobacco Survey is a crosssectional, nationally representative household survey [11]. GATS data were collected electronically by trained pollsters during in-person interviews. The target population was noninstitutional residents aged 15 years and older. According to the GATS sample selection requirements, a two-phase sampling for GATS Romania was conducted in which a subsample of primary sampling units (PSUs) was selected from the master sample EMZOT (Multifunctional Sample on Territorial Areas) [1]. The final probability selection of the sample units was equivalent to those being selected under three-stage stratified-cluster sampling, which were selected in order to produce key indicators for the whole country, also classified by residence (urban or rural) and by gender. Of the 5,629 sampled households, 4,601 were completely filled in the household interview, and the computed household response rate was 89.9%. The household response rate was higher in rural areas than in urban areas (95.8% and 85.6%, resp.). Among individuals selected from the completely screened households, 4,517 completed the individual interview, and the computed person-level response rate was 98.4%. The total response rate was 88.5%. Data used for current analysis is publicly available from the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS).
3. Study Variables The outcome variable was successful smoking cessation for one year or longer among adults in Romania. A successful quitter was defined as regular smoker (consuming at least one cigarette per day) who had stopped smoking for at least one year prior to the interview. Those respondents who had quit smoking more recently were considered recent quitters. A current smoker was defined as someone who had smoked more than an average of one cigarette per day on a regular basis for at least one year. The ever smokers group include all the above-mentioned categories including respondents who were current, former smokers and recent quitters. Overall lifetime cessation rates or “quit rates” were calculated, as the number of former smokers divided by the number of ever smokers and multiplied by 100% [10]. The exposure variables applied for determining associations of successful cessation were the gender (male, female) and age (under 25, 25–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60 years
BioMed Research International and older) of the respondents. Moreover, age at smoking onset, the age at which respondents started to smoke tobacco on a regular basis, was considered (≤17, 18–20, and 21 years or over). Educational attainment was regarded as primary education, secondary education, and high education. Accordingly, occupational classification of respondents was described as economically not active (pupils, students, persons occupied with household keeping, retired, and pensioners due to disability), currently with a permanent job as employed, and currently with no permanent job as unemployed able to work and unemployed unable to work. Furthermore, respondents’ place of residence was a rural or urban area. Socioeconomic circumstances, including ownership of different household items, were also evaluated. The variable called “Asset Index” was created based on summative score of possession of the following assets: functioning electricity, flush toilet, fixed telephone, cell telephone, television, radio, refrigerator, car, washing machine, computer, and internet access. The summative score was then divided into, high, medium, and low. Similar methodology has been validated elsewhere [12]. We also assessed the awareness of the negative health consequences of smoking. Respondents were categorized as aware (those who answered “yes” to the following question: do you think that tobacco smoking causes serious diseases?) and not aware (those who answered “no” and “do not know”). Similarly, awareness of the adverse health consequences of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure was determined and respondents were characterized as aware and not aware. In addition, we considered cohabitation with a smoker (yes, no).
4. Analysis and Statistics The STATISTICA Windows XP version 8.0 program was used to perform the statistical analysis. Firstly, a descriptive analysis for all variables included in the study was completed. All analyses were performed separately for men and women. Logistic regression model was implemented to compare those who successfully quit (former smokers who quit ≥1 year) with those who continued to smoke (current daily smokers). We used logistic regression analyses of unweighted data to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of each indicator on outcome measure. In the first stage, crude coefficients, odds ratios (OR) of the impact of odd variables on the successful smoking cessation in males and females, were calculated. This was followed by a multifactorial analysis considering the simultaneous effect of all statistically significant variables on the possibility of successful smoking cessation.
5. Results The sample comprised 4,517 respondents, of which 450 subjects (336 men and 114 women) had successfully quit smoking and had not smoked for at least 1 year before the interview. The distribution of former, current, and ever smokers, recent quitters, and quit rates of the study sample by gender are available in Table 1.
Overall Age (years) 0.05). At the mean, former smokers were a bit older, 59.9±14.9 years in males and 51.9±15.2 years in females (𝑃 < 0.001). The mean age of recent quitters was 51.5 ± 12.4 and 45.5 ± 16.5 years for men and women, respectively, (𝑃 < 0.05). Women started smoking later than men (data not presented in the tables). Former and current male smokers started smoking by 18.8 ± 5.3 and 18.2 ± 4.5 years of age, respectively, while female former and current smokers started at 23.0 ± 7.8 (men versus women 𝑃 < 0.001) years, respectively. We also observed a lower quit rate among women relative to men, 26.3% for women compared to 33.1% for men (𝑃 < 0.02). For women who successfully quit, they quit at a slightly younger age than men. The mean age of quitting for male and female former smokers was 44.5 ± 14.0 and 41.9 ± 13.5 years, respectively (𝑃 > 0.05). Men and women had been smoking 26.2 ± 13.8 and 19.5 ± 11.7 years, respectively, before quitting (males versus females 𝑃 < 0.001). At the time of the interview, male and female former smokers reported mean 15.5 ± 13.5 and 9.9 ± 8.9 years, respectively, since quitting (𝑃 < 0.001). During 12 months prior to the interview, 34.0% (𝑛 = 223) of male current smokers and 37.1% (𝑛 = 111) of female current smokers (𝑃 > 0.05) attempted to give up smoking. Almost one-third of the current male smokers, 36.0% (𝑛 = 227) and 33.1% (𝑛 = 94) of the current female smokers had no plans to quit (𝑃 > 0.05). Other respondents considered giving up smoking in the future.
6. Univariable Analysis The results of the univariable regression analyses are presented in Tables 2 and 3. Male and female smokers experienced the highest likelihood to quit over the age of 60 compared to those less than 25 years of age (male: OR = 29.1, 95% CI: 10.2–82.5; female: OR = 15.3, 95% CI: 3.4–69.9, resp.). Long-term quit odds substantially increased with older age groups, older than 25 years in men and age 30–39 in women (Table 2). Also men and women who started smoking late, after age 21, are more likely to quit relative to those who started smoking before they were 17 years (male: OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.1; female: OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.4–4.8, resp.). Male and female subjects classified as economically inactive have a higher probability of successful smoking cessation relative to the unemployed people (OR = 10.9, 95% CI: 6.1– 19.4; OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.0–10.2, resp.). Men who were aware of smoking health consequences and ETS consequences were more likely to quit smoking successfully than those who were unaware (OR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.8–11.5; OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.0–3.2, resp.). Awareness of these consequences had no significant association with successful cessation among women. People living alone or with nonsmokers were significantly more likely to quit smoking successfully than those living with smokers (male smokers: OR = 16.7, 95% CI: 11.9–23.4 and female smokers: OR = 20.1, 95% CI: 11.3–35.6). Education, place of
5 residence, and Asset Index were not significantly associated with successful smoking cessation.
7. Multivariable Analysis The results of the multivariable regression analyses are presented in Tables 2 and 3. After taking all the statistically significant variables in the univariable model into account, age for smoking initiation and awareness of ETS exposure were statistically insignificant among male smokers, while age and occupational classification were statistically insignificant among female smokers. Cohabitation with a non-smoker was the only significant predictor of long-term smoking cessation in both genders (Tables 2 and 3). The probability of quitting smoking was significantly higher among men and women living alone or with nonsmokers than those living with smokers (male: OR = 13.9, 95% CI: 9.4–20.1 and female: OR = 20.1, 95% CI: 11.1–39.1, resp.). Age, occupation, and awareness of smoking health consequences were significant predictors of smoking cessation among men. The odds of quitting increased with age among men, as male smokers over 60 are most likely to quit smoking compared to those less than 25 (OR: 15.6, 95% CI: 4.7–51.7). Similarly, men who were economically active had a higher likelihood of quitting smoking compared to unemployed male smokers (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.3–5.1). Being aware of smoking health consequences also increased a man’s likelihood to stop smoking (OR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.0–9.6). The odds of successful smoking cessation increased with age at smoking onset among women. Women who started smoking after age 21 were more likely to quit smoking compared to those who started before age 17 (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.4–4.8). Age and occupation were not correlated with smoking cessation among women.
8. Discussion In this study, we have evaluated the factors affecting smoking cessation success among Romanian adults. In Romania, the lifetime quit rate was 26.3% for women and 33.1% for men which means that approximately one-third of people who have ever smoked have quit. Similar findings were derived from GATS Poland, including lower quit rates among women compared to men [10]. However, quit rates are almost two times lower when compared to more developed countries; for example, Canada had a quit rate of approximately 59% [13]. These differences show huge disproportions among middle-income and developed countries in terms of the effectiveness of the implementation of tobacco control policies including cessation measures. Apart from gender, GATS revealed the association of successful cessation with several other sociodemographic factors among a representative sample of adult population. GATS showed that older age was strongly associated with longterm cessation in men, which is consistent with other studies [11, 14–18]. The possible interpretation of this association is that older persons engaged in smoking cessation have greater motivation, discipline, and immediate preoccupation with
6.2 10.3 16.7 22.4 32.7 65.6 31.6 33.0 40.8 46.6 32.4 34.6 57.6 23.3 11.1 33.8 33.9 34.6 34.7 27.1 34.9 10.6 34.7 22.5 10.2 65.4
4 7 28 46 68 183 131 131 73 34 253 47 200 118 15 144 192 177 118 35 328 5 314 16 58 276
415 (41.9) 397 (40.1) 179 (18.1) 73 (7.4) 780 (78.8) 136 (13.8) 347 (35.1) 507 (51.3) 135 (13.6) 426 (42.9) 567 (57.1) 512 (52.2) 340 (34.7) 129 (13.2) 940 (95.2) 47 (4.8) 905 (92.7) 71 (7.3) 569 (57.4) 422 (42.6)
7.7–12.7 60.9–69.9
31.6–37.8 12.8–32.2
31.9–37.9 1.8–19.4
30.5–38.7 29.6–39.8 19.4–34.8
29.3–38.3 30.0–37.8
52.4–62.8 19.6–27.0 5.8–16.4
35.2–58.0 29.1–35.7 26.6–42.6
27.1–36.1 28.4–37.6 33.6–48.0
0.4–12.1 3.1–17.5 11.1–22.3 16.7–28.1 26.3–39.1 60.0–71.2
Former smoker 𝑁 = 336 𝑁 % 95% CI
65 (6.4) 68 (6.8) 168 (16.9) 205 (20.6) 208 (20.9) 279 (28.1)
Total 𝑁 = 993 𝑁%
ETS: environmental tobacco smoke. a Fully adjusted model including all statistically significant variables. ∗ 𝑃 ≤ 0.05. ∗∗ 𝑃 ≤ 0.01. ∗∗∗ 𝑃 ≤ 0.001.
Age (years)
Research Article Correlates of Cessation Success among Romanian Adults Dorota Kaleta,1 Bukola Usidame,2 Elhbieta Dziankowska-Zaborszczyk,3 and Teresa Makowiec-Ddbrowska4 1
Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Ł´od´z, 90 752 Ł´od´z, Poland Department of Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA 02125, USA 3 Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Ł´od´z, 90 752 Ł´od´z, Poland 4 Department of Work Physiology and Ergonomics, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, 91 348 Ł´od´z, Poland 2
Correspondence should be addressed to Dorota Kaleta; [email protected] Received 18 February 2014; Revised 23 April 2014; Accepted 18 May 2014; Published 4 June 2014 Academic Editor: Amy K. Ferketich Copyright © 2014 Dorota Kaleta et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Tobacco smoking and its consequences are a serious public health problem in Romania. Evidence-based data on factors associated with successful smoking cessation are crucial to optimize tobacco control. The aim of the study was to determine the sociodemographic and other factors associated with smoking cessation success among adults. Materials and Methods. Data was from a sample of 4,517 individuals derived from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). GATS is a cross-sectional, nationally representative household survey implemented in Romania in 2011. Data was analyzed with logistic regression. Results. Among females, the quit rate was 26.3% compared with 33.1% in males (𝑃 < 0.02). We found disparities in cessation success among the analyzed groups of respondents. Being economically active, being aged 40 and above, and having an awareness of smoking health consequences were associated with long-term quitting smoking among men, while initiating smoking at a later age increased the odds of quitting smoking among women. However, cohabitation with nonsmokers was the strongest predictor of successful cessation among both genders. Conclusion. Programs increasing quit rates and encourage cessation among groups less likely to quit, adopting voluntary smoke-free homes, and increasing the awareness of smoking and tobacco pollution risks are needed.
1. Introduction Tobacco smoking and its adverse consequences are a serious public health problem in Romania. Smoking prevalence in 2011 was 37.4% and 16.6% among adult men and women, respectively [1]. According to the World Health Organization, in Romania, tobacco was responsible for 16% of all noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) compared with 20% of all communicable diseases [2]. The proportion of deaths attributable to tobacco was approximately 24% for men and 6% for women. Among those who died prematurely, almost one in every 4 deaths (population aged 30–44) and one in 3 deaths (population aged 45–59 years) were attributable to tobacco use. Peto et al. estimate that smokers who die as a result of their tobacco consumption die 14 years earlier than people who never smoked [3]. Expressed in life years, it was calculated that in 2010, about 9.94 million years were lost prematurely. The estimated loss to society caused by premature deaths
associated with smoking amounts to a monetized value of 517 bEUR for the EU, which corresponds to about 4.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP) [3]. Romania was hugely affected with an estimated loss of 26,611 mEUR, which corresponds to about 11.2% of the GDP. However, the losses caused by tobacco extend beyond the costs of premature deaths and also affect other aspects of society functions. To decrease the burden of smoking-induced disease as well as related society costs, there is a need to reduce smoking. Increasing the cessation rate is considered the only high-impact strategy that can determine a significant improvement in a relatively short term [4]. There are many approaches and interventions at individual as well as population levels that have been assessed and implemented, and their effective results could serve as an example [4–9]. In regard to the above, the purpose of this study was to determine the sociodemographic and other factors (including risk awareness of smoking and environmental tobacco
2 smoke harm or cohabitation with a smoker) associated with successful smoking cessation among Romanian adults in order to provide evidence-based data to develop well-tailored, effective tobacco control strategies.
2. Material and Methods Data on smoking status, sociodemographic and other characteristics of respondents were derived from the Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS). Detailed methodology of the survey was described elsewhere [1, 10, 11]. Romania belongs to the EURO World Health Organization countries and it is also one of the GATS family countries that implemented survey in years 2009–2011, alongside the Russian Federation, Poland, and Ukraine. Global Adult Tobacco Survey is a crosssectional, nationally representative household survey [11]. GATS data were collected electronically by trained pollsters during in-person interviews. The target population was noninstitutional residents aged 15 years and older. According to the GATS sample selection requirements, a two-phase sampling for GATS Romania was conducted in which a subsample of primary sampling units (PSUs) was selected from the master sample EMZOT (Multifunctional Sample on Territorial Areas) [1]. The final probability selection of the sample units was equivalent to those being selected under three-stage stratified-cluster sampling, which were selected in order to produce key indicators for the whole country, also classified by residence (urban or rural) and by gender. Of the 5,629 sampled households, 4,601 were completely filled in the household interview, and the computed household response rate was 89.9%. The household response rate was higher in rural areas than in urban areas (95.8% and 85.6%, resp.). Among individuals selected from the completely screened households, 4,517 completed the individual interview, and the computed person-level response rate was 98.4%. The total response rate was 88.5%. Data used for current analysis is publicly available from the Global Tobacco Surveillance System (GTSS).
3. Study Variables The outcome variable was successful smoking cessation for one year or longer among adults in Romania. A successful quitter was defined as regular smoker (consuming at least one cigarette per day) who had stopped smoking for at least one year prior to the interview. Those respondents who had quit smoking more recently were considered recent quitters. A current smoker was defined as someone who had smoked more than an average of one cigarette per day on a regular basis for at least one year. The ever smokers group include all the above-mentioned categories including respondents who were current, former smokers and recent quitters. Overall lifetime cessation rates or “quit rates” were calculated, as the number of former smokers divided by the number of ever smokers and multiplied by 100% [10]. The exposure variables applied for determining associations of successful cessation were the gender (male, female) and age (under 25, 25–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, and 60 years
BioMed Research International and older) of the respondents. Moreover, age at smoking onset, the age at which respondents started to smoke tobacco on a regular basis, was considered (≤17, 18–20, and 21 years or over). Educational attainment was regarded as primary education, secondary education, and high education. Accordingly, occupational classification of respondents was described as economically not active (pupils, students, persons occupied with household keeping, retired, and pensioners due to disability), currently with a permanent job as employed, and currently with no permanent job as unemployed able to work and unemployed unable to work. Furthermore, respondents’ place of residence was a rural or urban area. Socioeconomic circumstances, including ownership of different household items, were also evaluated. The variable called “Asset Index” was created based on summative score of possession of the following assets: functioning electricity, flush toilet, fixed telephone, cell telephone, television, radio, refrigerator, car, washing machine, computer, and internet access. The summative score was then divided into, high, medium, and low. Similar methodology has been validated elsewhere [12]. We also assessed the awareness of the negative health consequences of smoking. Respondents were categorized as aware (those who answered “yes” to the following question: do you think that tobacco smoking causes serious diseases?) and not aware (those who answered “no” and “do not know”). Similarly, awareness of the adverse health consequences of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure was determined and respondents were characterized as aware and not aware. In addition, we considered cohabitation with a smoker (yes, no).
4. Analysis and Statistics The STATISTICA Windows XP version 8.0 program was used to perform the statistical analysis. Firstly, a descriptive analysis for all variables included in the study was completed. All analyses were performed separately for men and women. Logistic regression model was implemented to compare those who successfully quit (former smokers who quit ≥1 year) with those who continued to smoke (current daily smokers). We used logistic regression analyses of unweighted data to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of each indicator on outcome measure. In the first stage, crude coefficients, odds ratios (OR) of the impact of odd variables on the successful smoking cessation in males and females, were calculated. This was followed by a multifactorial analysis considering the simultaneous effect of all statistically significant variables on the possibility of successful smoking cessation.
5. Results The sample comprised 4,517 respondents, of which 450 subjects (336 men and 114 women) had successfully quit smoking and had not smoked for at least 1 year before the interview. The distribution of former, current, and ever smokers, recent quitters, and quit rates of the study sample by gender are available in Table 1.
Overall Age (years) 0.05). At the mean, former smokers were a bit older, 59.9±14.9 years in males and 51.9±15.2 years in females (𝑃 < 0.001). The mean age of recent quitters was 51.5 ± 12.4 and 45.5 ± 16.5 years for men and women, respectively, (𝑃 < 0.05). Women started smoking later than men (data not presented in the tables). Former and current male smokers started smoking by 18.8 ± 5.3 and 18.2 ± 4.5 years of age, respectively, while female former and current smokers started at 23.0 ± 7.8 (men versus women 𝑃 < 0.001) years, respectively. We also observed a lower quit rate among women relative to men, 26.3% for women compared to 33.1% for men (𝑃 < 0.02). For women who successfully quit, they quit at a slightly younger age than men. The mean age of quitting for male and female former smokers was 44.5 ± 14.0 and 41.9 ± 13.5 years, respectively (𝑃 > 0.05). Men and women had been smoking 26.2 ± 13.8 and 19.5 ± 11.7 years, respectively, before quitting (males versus females 𝑃 < 0.001). At the time of the interview, male and female former smokers reported mean 15.5 ± 13.5 and 9.9 ± 8.9 years, respectively, since quitting (𝑃 < 0.001). During 12 months prior to the interview, 34.0% (𝑛 = 223) of male current smokers and 37.1% (𝑛 = 111) of female current smokers (𝑃 > 0.05) attempted to give up smoking. Almost one-third of the current male smokers, 36.0% (𝑛 = 227) and 33.1% (𝑛 = 94) of the current female smokers had no plans to quit (𝑃 > 0.05). Other respondents considered giving up smoking in the future.
6. Univariable Analysis The results of the univariable regression analyses are presented in Tables 2 and 3. Male and female smokers experienced the highest likelihood to quit over the age of 60 compared to those less than 25 years of age (male: OR = 29.1, 95% CI: 10.2–82.5; female: OR = 15.3, 95% CI: 3.4–69.9, resp.). Long-term quit odds substantially increased with older age groups, older than 25 years in men and age 30–39 in women (Table 2). Also men and women who started smoking late, after age 21, are more likely to quit relative to those who started smoking before they were 17 years (male: OR = 1.5, 95% CI: 1.0–2.1; female: OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.4–4.8, resp.). Male and female subjects classified as economically inactive have a higher probability of successful smoking cessation relative to the unemployed people (OR = 10.9, 95% CI: 6.1– 19.4; OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.0–10.2, resp.). Men who were aware of smoking health consequences and ETS consequences were more likely to quit smoking successfully than those who were unaware (OR = 4.5, 95% CI: 1.8–11.5; OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.0–3.2, resp.). Awareness of these consequences had no significant association with successful cessation among women. People living alone or with nonsmokers were significantly more likely to quit smoking successfully than those living with smokers (male smokers: OR = 16.7, 95% CI: 11.9–23.4 and female smokers: OR = 20.1, 95% CI: 11.3–35.6). Education, place of
5 residence, and Asset Index were not significantly associated with successful smoking cessation.
7. Multivariable Analysis The results of the multivariable regression analyses are presented in Tables 2 and 3. After taking all the statistically significant variables in the univariable model into account, age for smoking initiation and awareness of ETS exposure were statistically insignificant among male smokers, while age and occupational classification were statistically insignificant among female smokers. Cohabitation with a non-smoker was the only significant predictor of long-term smoking cessation in both genders (Tables 2 and 3). The probability of quitting smoking was significantly higher among men and women living alone or with nonsmokers than those living with smokers (male: OR = 13.9, 95% CI: 9.4–20.1 and female: OR = 20.1, 95% CI: 11.1–39.1, resp.). Age, occupation, and awareness of smoking health consequences were significant predictors of smoking cessation among men. The odds of quitting increased with age among men, as male smokers over 60 are most likely to quit smoking compared to those less than 25 (OR: 15.6, 95% CI: 4.7–51.7). Similarly, men who were economically active had a higher likelihood of quitting smoking compared to unemployed male smokers (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.3–5.1). Being aware of smoking health consequences also increased a man’s likelihood to stop smoking (OR: 3.1, 95% CI: 1.0–9.6). The odds of successful smoking cessation increased with age at smoking onset among women. Women who started smoking after age 21 were more likely to quit smoking compared to those who started before age 17 (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.4–4.8). Age and occupation were not correlated with smoking cessation among women.
8. Discussion In this study, we have evaluated the factors affecting smoking cessation success among Romanian adults. In Romania, the lifetime quit rate was 26.3% for women and 33.1% for men which means that approximately one-third of people who have ever smoked have quit. Similar findings were derived from GATS Poland, including lower quit rates among women compared to men [10]. However, quit rates are almost two times lower when compared to more developed countries; for example, Canada had a quit rate of approximately 59% [13]. These differences show huge disproportions among middle-income and developed countries in terms of the effectiveness of the implementation of tobacco control policies including cessation measures. Apart from gender, GATS revealed the association of successful cessation with several other sociodemographic factors among a representative sample of adult population. GATS showed that older age was strongly associated with longterm cessation in men, which is consistent with other studies [11, 14–18]. The possible interpretation of this association is that older persons engaged in smoking cessation have greater motivation, discipline, and immediate preoccupation with
6.2 10.3 16.7 22.4 32.7 65.6 31.6 33.0 40.8 46.6 32.4 34.6 57.6 23.3 11.1 33.8 33.9 34.6 34.7 27.1 34.9 10.6 34.7 22.5 10.2 65.4
4 7 28 46 68 183 131 131 73 34 253 47 200 118 15 144 192 177 118 35 328 5 314 16 58 276
415 (41.9) 397 (40.1) 179 (18.1) 73 (7.4) 780 (78.8) 136 (13.8) 347 (35.1) 507 (51.3) 135 (13.6) 426 (42.9) 567 (57.1) 512 (52.2) 340 (34.7) 129 (13.2) 940 (95.2) 47 (4.8) 905 (92.7) 71 (7.3) 569 (57.4) 422 (42.6)
7.7–12.7 60.9–69.9
31.6–37.8 12.8–32.2
31.9–37.9 1.8–19.4
30.5–38.7 29.6–39.8 19.4–34.8
29.3–38.3 30.0–37.8
52.4–62.8 19.6–27.0 5.8–16.4
35.2–58.0 29.1–35.7 26.6–42.6
27.1–36.1 28.4–37.6 33.6–48.0
0.4–12.1 3.1–17.5 11.1–22.3 16.7–28.1 26.3–39.1 60.0–71.2
Former smoker 𝑁 = 336 𝑁 % 95% CI
65 (6.4) 68 (6.8) 168 (16.9) 205 (20.6) 208 (20.9) 279 (28.1)
Total 𝑁 = 993 𝑁%
ETS: environmental tobacco smoke. a Fully adjusted model including all statistically significant variables. ∗ 𝑃 ≤ 0.05. ∗∗ 𝑃 ≤ 0.01. ∗∗∗ 𝑃 ≤ 0.001.
Age (years)
